The Space Shuttle Catastrophe Off Cape Canaveral
I had not intended to watch the shuttle launch, but by chance the liftoff was delayed and coincided with my arrival at work, where a satellite dish was bringing in the live telecast. A small cluster of employees stood watching, 10 seconds before the launch.
The most horrifying aspect of the experience that was to follow was the silence after the explosion, in which each person watching was forced to admit the reality and significance of the event, unmediated by any commentator or expert. It was a heart-numbing loneliness in the midst of the crowd of people in the room.
As the feeling returns and we consider where to go from here, it seems fitting to recall the words of Gandhi: “Ships are safe in the harbor, but that is not their purpose.”
LANNY BUETTNER
Los Angeles
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